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A user's guide to enhancing geriatrics in an undergraduate medical school curriculum: the ten-step model to winning the "geriatric game".

In 1999, the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry committed to major restructuring of its undergraduate medical school curriculum. A distinguishing feature of this reform was the planned emphasis on and integration of several core topics or themes throughout the 4 years of the curriculum. One of these curricular themes was aging. The faculty in geriatrics was presented with an unparalleled opportunity to develop a geriatrics curriculum of major proportions through the development of an aging theme. Through a user's guide approach based on the authors' experience to date, this article identifies the 10 steps necessary to "win the geriatric game" successfully integrating an aging theme into an undergraduate medical school curriculum. Since the initiation of the aging theme, several new courses, cases, and conferences have been added or enhanced, affecting all 4 years of the curriculum. Key operational challenges included successful engagement of course directors, tracking the actual experience of the aging theme, and evaluation of students' attainment of learning objectives and eventual career choices. The authors' experience suggests that an aging theme can successfully enhance the geriatrics curricular content of undergraduate education and strongly affect students across all 4 years. This 10-step approach may serve as a model for other universities committed to integrating geriatrics across the full undergraduate medical curriculum.

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The Johns Hopkins Geriatric Summer Scholars Program: a model to increase diversity in geriatric medicine.

The Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at the Johns Hopkins University strives to create a workforce that represents the racial, ethnic, and sex diversity of U.S. society. To that end, the division has developed a summer program for underrepresented minority first-year medical students to expose them to geriatric medicine and research. The ultimate aim of this initiative is to recruit students to academic medicine, specifically geriatric medicine, where they are drastically underrepresented. Nineteen students participated in the program from the summer of 2002 to the summer of 2004. The participants have continued on to win seven other research fellowships, participate in the National Institute on Aging Technical Assistance Workshop, and present at four national conferences, including the American Geriatrics Society conference and the Gerontological Society of America meeting. One of the students, who is completing medical school in May 2005, is returning to begin the internal medicine residency program at Johns Hopkins Bayview, where the majority of the geriatric faculty practice medicine. Another student who is also graduating is obtaining her Masters in Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health before starting residency. This article describes the outcomes of the first 3 years of the program, with an emphasis on curriculum development and the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority medical students.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

[University education in geriatrics: medical students' understandings of gerontology and geriatric medicine].

With the rapid aging of Japan's population, medical professionals who specialize in geriatric medicine are in unprecedented demand. To meet that demand and to improve the curriculum for teaching geriatric medicine and gerontology in Japan, we surveyed medical students' understandings of these specialties. Students at 14 schools with classes in geriatric medicine and gerontology were surveyed. A questionnaire was sent to sixth-year medical students after their classes had ended. Questionnaires were collected from 849 students (60.1%) at ten medical schools (74.1%). One quarter (24.5%) of the students were satisfied with the contents of the classes in geriatric medicine and gerontology taught in their school, whereas 39.4% were not. These specialties encompass many fields of clinical and basic medicine, and many students found the lectures difficult to understand (41.4%). Inter-school comparisons of the results showed that students' strengths and weaknesses in the various areas of geriatric medicine reflected differences in the contents of the classes among the schools. Only 35.4% of students had ever visited hospitals or other health-related facilities for the elderly. Many students (58.8%) had never lived with elderly people. Most students (63.9%) wanted visits to health-care facilities for the elderly to be included in their regular curriculum. Medical students are conscious of the medical implications of the ageing of Japan's population; 13.2% had volunteered to work with the elderly.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

[University education in geriatrics--present status and future prospects of gerontology and geriatrics education in pathology].

The increase in the number and proportion of the elderly in Japan over the last 30 years has been faster than that in any other country. One of the measures we are compelled to take to deal with this drastic change in medicosocial circumstances is reform of the medical school curriculum. However, the necessary reforms are being implemented slowly and are still insufficient. We surveyed the present status of gerontology and geriatrics education in pathology, and the understanding, interest, and opinions on this matter among professors of pathology. Questionnaires were sent to 148 professors of pathology in 80 medical schools. Responses were received from 84 professors (57%) at 64 medical schools (80%). Of the 11 medical schools with a department of geriatrics 10(90%) included gerontology in the curriculum. In contrast, 43(80%) of the 53 remaining schools did not include gerontology in the curriculum, although education in geriatrics and gerontology has been given as part of pathology lectures in almost all medical schools. Many professors want to establish a department of geriatrics in their school, but feel it will be difficult because of lack of money and higher priority given to other fields. As other hindrances, most of the respondents noted the lack of money and higher priority given to other fields. As other hindrances, most of the respondents noted the lack of a good textbook of gerontology, ambiguity in the concept of the field, and the immaturity of gerontology as a science. Another major problem noted was uncertainty regarding the status of geriatrics as a clinical specialty. One professor mentioned that promotion of aging research would be the best way to solve these problems.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗

Core competencies for the care of older patients: recommendations of the American Geriatrics Society. The Education Committee Writing Group of the American Geriatrics Society.

The aging of the U.S. population has led many organizations to call for an increase in the amount of clinical geriatrics training in medical education. A subcommittee of the American Geriatrics Society's Education Committee was assigned the task of defining core competencies for geriatrics education in medical schools. The subcommittee reviewed the available literature, surveyed selected programs in geriatrics education, and sought input from experts in geriatrics education. They then defined the core knowledge, attitudes, and skills students must develop to care for older people. This article summarizes these core competencies, which medical educators may find useful in developing new curricula on aging or in evaluating existing curricula.

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Geriatric psychiatry fellowship programs in the United States: findings from the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs' longitudinal study of training and practice.

OBJECTIVE: The authors document the development and growth of geriatric psychiatry fellowship training in the United States (U.S.) through 2002. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of the 62 U.S. geriatric psychiatry fellowship programs was conducted in Fall 2001. They also analyzed longitudinal data from the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC) National Graduate Medical Education (GME) Census, along with data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). RESULTS: Forty-six (74%) of 62 training directors (TDs) responded. The number of fellowship programs has slowly increased over the past 7 years. During 2001-2002, a total of 94 fellows were in training (all years of training). Seventy-eight percent (N=36) of responding programs offered only 1-year fellowship training experiences. TDs reported that application rates for fellowship positions were stable during the academic years 1999-2002, with a median number of eight applications per program for first-year positions in 2001-2002. The fill-rate for first-year geriatric psychiatry fellowship positions dropped from 84% in 1999-2000 to 61% in 2001-2002. During 2001-2002, 73% of programs reported having two or fewer first-year fellows, and 16% had no first-year fellows. Seventeen programs reported having no U.S. medical school graduates (USMGs) as first-year fellows. CONCLUSION: Recruiting high-quality USMGs into geriatric psychiatry fellowship programs remains a challenge. Furthermore, retaining first-year fellows for additional years of academic training has been difficult. Findings indicate that specific strategies need to be developed to stimulate undergraduate and graduate interest in careers in clinical and academic geriatric psychiatry.

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[The Department of Geriatrics in The Netherlands. A comment on the advice of the National Council for Public Health and the College for Hospital Provisions concerning departments of geriatrics in general hospitals].

In September 1987 the central advisory bodies for the Dutch health care system issued their advisory report on the further development of departments of geriatric medicine in general hospitals in the Netherlands. The report is awaiting judgement by the Dutch government. The lack of training capacity seems the main problem for the future of geriatric medicine in the Netherlands. Short-term plans aim to strengthen the six existing general hospital departments of geriatric medicine, to increase their training capacity and to enhance their influence by giving them 'satellite-functions' such as satellite-out patient clinics and satellite-consultations. Long-term plans are to set up departments of geriatric medicine in university hospitals, in order to further stimulate training, teaching and research. The authors favour a faster development of university hospital departments of geriatric medicine.

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The prevalence of mental disorders in the elderly in Edmonton: a community survey using GMS-AGECAT. Geriatric Mental State-Automated Geriatric Examination for Computer Assisted Taxonomy.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the current prevalence rate of Geriatric Mental State-Automated Geriatric Examination for Computer Assisted Taxonomy (GMS-AGECAT) disorders in the elderly population in Edmonton, Alberta. To compare the prevalence rate of GMS-AGECAT depression with the prevalence rate of Diagnostic Interview Schedule-Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DIS-DSM-III) major depression based on an earlier survey in Edmonton. METHOD: A sample of 1119 community residents age 65 years and over was selected using the provincial health insurance database. Data on mental disorders were collected using the Geriatric Mental State questionnaire, and diagnoses were made with the Automated Geriatric Examination for Computer Assisted Taxonomy computer program. Prevalence rates, standard errors, and logistic regression coefficients were estimated using software designed to analyze survey data. RESULTS: The prevalence rates of GMS-AGECAT depression and organic disorder were 11.2% and 2.9% respectively. For depression there was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence rates for males (7.3%) and females (14.1%) (P = 0.003), and for organic disorder there was a statistically significant increasing trend across age-groups for females (P < 0.0001). The prevalence rate of GMS-AGECAT depression in Edmonton is comparable to rates reported from several European studies but is much higher than the 6-month prevalence rate of DIS-DSM-III major depression of 1.2% based on an earlier Edmonton survey. CONCLUSIONS: GMS-AGECAT depression is a depressive syndrome that has a larger prevalence rate than DIS-DSM-III major depression. Community surveys that measure only the prevalence rate of DSM-III major depression may be missing clinically significant cases of geriatric depression.

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Frontal lobe functioning in geriatric and non-geriatric samples: an argument for multimodal analyses.

The present investigation examines specific aspects of frontal functioning across geriatric and nongeriatric cohorts. Subjects included 193 nongeriatric male pilots (mean age: 48.29 (SD = 6.79); mean education: 15.93 years (SD = 1.86)), and 68 geriatric males and females (mean age: 78.38 (SD = 5.07); mean education: 13.68 (SD = 2.53)). The results of a series of general linear model multivariate one-way analyses revealed poorer performance on frontal measures in the geriatric sample, although no differences were noted between the male and female samples. In contrast, variable interrelations, as assessed by a parametric statistic of betweengroup factor similarity, indicated a noteworthy similarity of factors between the geriatric and nongeriatric groups, and dissimilarities between the factor structures for males and geriatric females. These findings not only support the presence of age-related differences in frontal performance for the domains tested, they suggest the need to examine frontal functioning by multiple methods, as differences in frontal functioning may exist between groups that are undetected by analyses based on intergroup score differences or predictor-criterion correlations alone

Journal Article↗

[Geriatrics in Bavaria-Database (GiB-DAT): Basic data analysis of geriatric rehabilitation in Bavaria and analysis of inter-clinic variability (part II)].

OBJECTIVE: Presentation and comparison of basic data from geriatric rehabilitation in Bavaria with analysis of statistical influences on characteristic values like length of stay and Barthel Index. Are differences between participating clinics due to patient characteristics? SETTING: There were a total of 21 656 data records of the Geriatrics in Bavaria- Database (GiB-DAT) collected by 35 clinics within 1 year. RESULTS (PERCENTAGE OR MEAN): 70.6% female patients, age 80.0 years, 95.9% enrollment from acute care hospitals, length of stay in previous hospitals 24.3 days, length of stay in geriatric rehabilitation 24.6 days. DIAGNOSIS: 41.7% orthopedics, 24.9% neurological, 33.4% others. Barthel Index on admission 44.1 points, on discharge 65.8 points (difference 21.8 points). We found a large variance of all items between participating clinics. Variance for Barthel Index and length of stay is partly cleared up by regression analysis (multinomial logistic) and is mostly due to patient characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Basic data of Bavarian geriatric rehabilitation clinics is matching with nationwide reference statistics. Differences exist for the lower rate of stroke and direct enrollment of outpatients. A simple ranking of outcome parameters (e. g. Barthel Index) does not make sense due to multiple influencing factors.

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Developments of geriatric autopsy database and Internet-based database of Japanese single nucleotide polymorphisms for geriatric research (JG-SNP).

To facilitate geriatric research on the roles of genetic polymorphisms of candidate genes, two databases were developed based on data obtained from autopsy examinations of elderly subjects: the geriatric autopsy database (GEAD) and the Japanese single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) database for geriatric research (JG-SNP) which is accessible on the Internet (http://www.tmgh.metro.tokyo.jp/jg-snp/english/E_top.html). The data for the GEAD were derived from 1074 consecutive autopsy cases (565 male and 509 female cases) with an average age of 80 years. The GEAD was installed on a stand-alone Windows 2000 server using Oracle 8i as the database application. The GEAD contains clinical diagnoses of 26 geriatric diseases, histories of smoking and alcohol consumption, pathological findings (720 items), severity of atherosclerosis, genetic polymorphism data, etc. On the JG-SNP website, case distribution corresponding to a specified SNP or disease can be searched or downloaded. Although there are several Internet-based SNP databases such as dbSNP, no databases are available at present on the web that contain both SNP data and phenotypic data. As autopsy studies can provide large amounts of accurate medical information, including the presence of undiagnosed diseases such as latent cancers, the GEAD is a unique and excellent database for research on genetic polymorphisms.

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Geriatric medicine and geriatric psychiatry clinical services affiliated with U.S. academic medical centers.

U.S. academic medical centers are providing many geriatric medicine (GM) and geriatric psychiatry (GP) clinical services at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and non-VHA sites. This article describes the distribution and scope of GM and GP clinical services being provided. Academic GM leaders of the 146 U.S. allopathic and osteopathic medical schools were surveyed online in the spring of 2004. One hundred four program directors (71.2%) responded. These medical schools provided 1,325 GM and 376 GP clinical services, which included 654 VHA and 1,014 non-VHA GM and GP services, affiliation with 21 Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, and 12 other specialized services. The mean number+/-standard deviation of distinct clinical services at each medical center was 16.4+/-8.2. More geriatrics faculty full-time equivalents, more time spent on training fellows, and designation as a GM Center of Excellence were associated with providing a wider range of geriatric clinical services. Using data from the survey, the first directory of GM and GP clinical services at academic medical centers was created (http://www.ADGAPSTUDY.uc.edu).

Academic Medical Centers↗

[Geriatric assessment in Norway. Scandinavian guidelines for geriatric medicine].

The Nordic countries have collaborated on reviewing and updating the guidelines of comprehensive case assessment in geriatric medicine. The Norwegian version of the document produced has recently been published as the official guidelines for the Norwegian Geriatrics Association. The document describes the status of geriatric medicine in the Nordic countries and summarizes the available documentation on its effectiveness and management. It also presents a detailed plan for carrying out geriatric case assessment. Scales for clinical use are evaluated and specific recommendations made with regard to their use in clinical practice. In this article the document is briefly described and commented on.

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A geriatric assessment and intervention team for hospital inpatients awaiting transfer to a geriatric unit: a randomized trial.

The objective of this study, designed as a randomized controlled trial, was to decrease the length-of-stay (LOS) of hospitalized patients on a waiting list for admission to an inpatient geriatric assessment unit (GAU), and to optimize use of the GAU and other hospital services. The participants included 108 elderly, functionally impaired inpatients referred for geriatric consultation, and appropriate for GAU admission, stratified into high and low ADL functioning groups. They were admitted to a 354-bed acute hospital, with a 31-bed long-stay ward and a 15-bed GAU; a 25-30 day delay occurred between screening and admission of inpatients to the GAU. Experimental subjects (N = 25) received the consultative services of a geriatric assessment and intervention team (GAIT) immediately after being qualified for GAU admission, in place of waiting for GAU services. Controls (N = 52) received usual hospital care until admitted to the GAU. While high-function patients randomized to the GAIT had significantly shorter hospital LOS than comparable controls (41.4 vs 56.5 days; p = 0.03), LOS reduction was even greater in the low-function stratum (44.5 vs 74.5 days; p = 0.001). Further, significantly more GAIT than control patients were discharged home (28% vs 11%; p = 0.044). A trend toward reduced mortality in the GAIT group was non-significant. We conclude that for Canadian hospitals in which extensive stays of frail elderly patients, "bed blockage", and thus access to unit-based geriatric services are common problems, the GAIT can efficiently decrease hospital LOS, increase home placement, and may improve outcomes.

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Feed-back between geriatric syndromes: general system theory in geriatrics.

Geriatrics has described three entities: confusional syndrome, incontinente and gait disorders, calling them geriatric giants. Aging process also induces changes in renal physiology such as glomerular filtration rate reduction, and alteration in water and electrolytes handling. These ageing renal changes have been named as nephrogeriatric giants. These two groups of giants, geriatric and nephrogeriatric, can predispose and potentiate each other leading old people to fatal outcomes. These phenomenon of feed-back between these geriatric syndromes has its roots in the loss of complexity that the ageing process has. Complexity means that all the body systems work harmoniously. The process of senescence weakens this coordination among systems undermining complexity and making the old person frail.

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The performance of simple instruments in detecting geriatric conditions and selecting community-dwelling older people for geriatric assessment.

BACKGROUND: comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) appears to be less effective when performed in outpatient clinics than in hospital settings. The effectiveness of outpatient CGA might be improved by selectively targeting frailer community-dwelling elderly people. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical performance of rapidly-administered standard screening measures for geriatric syndromes in selecting community-dwelling older people for outpatient CGA. METHODS: urban-dwelling older people were screened for CGA at community sites using a self-administered questionnaire containing standardized measures for each of four geriatric target conditions: depression, urinary incontinence, falls and functional impairment. The study sample included all 150 consecutive subjects who were screened, failed on one or more of the four target criteria and completed community-based, academically administered CGA. Diagnostic accuracy of the screening instruments was assessed using CGA diagnoses as the 'gold standard'. In addition, patients' potential for benefiting from CGA was determined by whether they received major medical recommendations for further evaluation or treatment. RESULTS: after completing CGA, 60.2% of those failing on functional impairment, 53.5% of those failing on depression, 30.7% of those failing on falls and 92.7% of those on urinary incontinence, were confirmed as having these or highly related conditions as clinical problems. Overall, 81.3% of the subjects completing CGA received the least one major recommendations for further medical intervention; most of these recommendations (79.5%) were for a target-related condition and the further remainder (20.5%) addressed another significant medical condition. CONCLUSION: simple screening instruments used in community settings have variable degrees of accuracy, but may be markers for frailty and thus can identify older people likely to benefit from geriatric assessment.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Improving recruitment into geriatric medicine in Canada: Findings and recommendations from the geriatric recruitment issues study.

As the number of Canadians aged 65 and older continues to increase, declining recruitment into geriatric medicine (GM) raises concerns about the future viability of this medical subspecialty. To develop effective strategies to attract more GM trainees into the field, it is necessary to understand how medical students, residents, GM trainees, and specialists make career choices. The Geriatric Recruitment Issues Study (GRIST) was designed to assess specific methods that could be used to improve recruitment into geriatrics in Canada. Between November 2002 and January 2003, 530 participants were invited to complete the GRIST survey (117 Canadian geriatricians, 12 GM trainees, 96 internal medicine residents, and 305 senior medical students). Two hundred fifty-three surveys (47.7%) were completed and returned (from 54 participating geriatricians, 9 GM trainees, 50 internal medicine residents, and 140 senior medical students). The survey asked respondents to rate factors influencing their choice of medical career, the attractiveness of GM, and the anticipated effectiveness of potential recruitment strategies. Although feedback varied across the four groups on these issues, consistencies were observed between medical students and residents and between GM trainees and geriatricians. All groups agreed that role modeling was effective and that summer student research programs were an ineffective recruitment strategy. Based on the GRIST findings, this article proposes six recommendations for improving recruitment into Canadian geriatric medicine training programs.

Adult↗

The development and evaluation of a geriatric emergency medicine curriculum. The SAEM Geriatric Emergency Medicine Task Force.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the processes used to develop a curriculum and model of care for the emergency medical treatment of elder patients and to assess the efficacy of the teaching material in a pilot course. METHODS: A survey of emergency medicine (EM) residency directors and geriatric fellowship directors was used to identify key topics for inclusion in the didactic material. An interdisciplinary consensus process was used to develop didactic as well as teaching material in geriatric EM. Pretests and posttests were administered to 46 participants in the initial course to assess knowledge gain. Subjective course evaluations were also done. RESULTS: Test scores significantly increased from 54% correct on the pretest to 77% correct on the posttest (p < 0.001). Significant improvement in knowledge as judged by pretest and posttest results occurred in 6 of the 7 teaching modules. Subjective evaluations demonstrated good to excellent ratings for each module as well as the overall workshop. CONCLUSIONS: The process of developing a curriculum for geriatric EM is described. The initial training of instructors was effective in improving participants' knowledge of geriatric issues in EM. Participants considered the training to be effective. The effect of the training on the emergency care of elder persons remains to be determined.

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